Dolphins QB Fiedler: Griese Not a Rival

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, June 15, 2003

Jay Fiedler expects Miami fans to think that he and Brian Griese are rivals, each seeking to emerge as the leader of a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

So shortly after Griese signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins last week, Fiedler called his newest teammate and invited him to his home for some barbecue.

"We just got to know each other and bonded a little bit," Fiedler said. "I expect us to become pretty good friends around here. It was just two teammates getting together, getting to know each other."

Griese's process of getting to know the rest of the Dolphins began in earnest Monday, when Miami opened a three-day quarterback camp. It's the fourth and final series of workouts for Miami before training camp opens July 25.

The two alternated often during the full-team workouts, each taking about half the snaps with the veterans. Griese remained on the field for another half-hour, getting in extra work with Miami's rookies.

"It felt good to be back out and playing with the guys," Griese said. "It was kind of like recess for me, getting a chance to get out on the field and have some fun again."

Coach Dave Wannstedt, who has repeatedly confirmed that Fiedler is the starter for this season, said he liked what he saw from Griese, who spent his first five NFL seasons with Denver.

"For the first day out, Brian was fine," Wannstedt said. "I think he's got a good start on an understanding of our offense. And physically, he was fine. That was encouraging to see, him moving around a little bit. He threw the ball very accurately for his first day out."

Griese, who also insists he wants to bring consistency, not controversy, to his new team, acknowledges that the Dolphins' system still confuses him a bit. But both Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Norv Turner said Griese progressed nicely throughout the first week of studying his new team's system.

Monday was the first on-field workout for Griese, but he had spent the previous week logging plenty of hours with Turner studying the playbook, breaking down film and learning Miami's terminology.

"I don't know how long it's going to take," Griese said. "I'm working hard to try to minimize how long it'll take. Hopefully sometime during training camp or the preseason I'll feel comfortable going out there in a game situation and executing the offense they have."

Turner said Griese has been a quick study.

"He's probably been running 30 plays a day and we probably only repeated one," Turner said. "He didn't have a problem calling any of the 30, all different calls. He's going to handle this extremely well."

Fiedler is 28-13 as a starter; Griese was 27-24 in four seasons as the starter who replaced John Elway with the Broncos.

Griese was brought in to upgrade Miami's quarterback corps. Last year's backup, Ray Lucas, went 2-4 as the starter when Fiedler broke his thumb midway through the season.

That slide largely contributed to Miami's first playoff-free season in six years.

"It was a great deal for us. We got probably the top guy that was available for us and he's been a great teammate since he's been here," Fiedler said. "We got along well right from the start. I expect him to be out there learning everything, picking everything up. I'll help him out and when we get going we'll push each other."